Sea kelp is a high-iodine food.
Iodine deficiency is uncommon in the United States, but pregnant women and adolescents are prone to the deficiency. Iodine is essential for thyroid health and function, and a chronic lack of dietary iodine may cause goiters or hypothyroidism. As with most dietary needs, overdoing your iodine intake can lead to health problems as well, so check with your doctor before making major dietary alterations.
Salt
Iodized salt is the primary method of dietary iodine intake in the United States. However, if you use non-iodized salt, such as kosher or sea salt, and don't eat out at places that use iodized salt, you may be missing this source of dietary iodine. Most people should not increase their salt intake, but switching to an iodized salt can increase your iodine intake, which may be sufficient for your body's needs.
Seafood
Seafood is a natural source for iodine, and a variety of seafood types can supplement your diet. Perch, haddock and cod are good sources, but the amount of iodine in seafood can be hard to measure accurately. If you eat seafood regularly but have been diagnosed with an iodine deficiency, try switching to sea vegetables, such as kelp or seaweed. The iodine content in these items varies less, and they also contain other highly nutritious elements.
Dairy
Milk, yogurt and cheese all contain dietary iodine, as well as other vitamins and minerals essential to a healthy body. Low fat varieties of these foods generally still contain similar iodine levels to the full cream types, so you can still reduce your fat intake while receiving your iodine supplementation.
Plants
Plants can be iodine-rich, but judging their content is difficult because the iodine in plants comes from growing in iodine-rich soil. Check the packaging on frozen or canned vegetables for iodine content. Wheat plants may not contain significant amounts of iodine naturally, but bread can be a sufficient source of dietary iodine due to dough conditioners and iodized salt added during the bread-making process.
Tags: dietary iodine, iodine intake, your iodine, dietary iodine, iodine content, iodized salt, source dietary
